A bumper assembly for a vehicle is mounted on the front and rear ends of a vehicle body, respectively, to absorb impact in the event of a collision, thus protecting a driver and passengers during an accident and preventing deformation of the vehicle body. The bumper assembly generally includes a bumper cover, an energy absorber, and a bumper beam.
In the bumper beam described in Japanese Patent Application 2014-218179, the cavity of the bumper beam is filled with high density structural foam. Thus, the weight of the bumper beam is significantly increased without a significant increase in strength. In addition, a reinforcing member has no direct attachment to the metal members which is susceptible to slide. Thus, the reinforcing member provides no/slight benefit while adding the cost.
In the bumper beam described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0144812 A1, the outer metal section is a two part section that requires some joining mechanism. In the event of a crash, the joining mechanism is susceptible to failure. In addition, the inner molded composite part need a separate joining with the metal parts to be able to effectively transfer load in an event of a crash which introduces more process steps and complexity in the manufacturing process.
Accordingly, what is needed, as recognized by the present inventors, is a bumper beam that increases safety without increasing the weight.
The foregoing “Background” description is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.